


the magic of Christmas

by orphan_account



Series: gangsey holidays [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Christmas Carols, Christmas Tree Decorating, Gen, Holiday Cheer, hinting at bluesey, hinting at pynch, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 10:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5331476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>December comes to Henrietta, and the Gangsey decorates the Christmas tree at Monmouth. Ronan, a lover of the holidays, acts like he isn't filled with the Christmas spirit, but his new family brings him that same feeling of magic his childhood held.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the magic of Christmas

December had reached Henrietta, and with it came snow, lit fireplaces, runny noses, and a sense of holiday cheer.

Ronan Lynch would never admit it, but he loved Christmas. As a child, Christmas was his favorite day of the year. He held on to memories of decorating the tree with his mom and his brothers, of lighting candles with his father, of the scent of homemade chocolate chip cookies wafting through his childhood home.

Christmas reminded him of when things were better, when he got along with both of his brothers, when he didn’t have to worry about bringing a dream monster to life, when his dad was still alive. 

As a kid, he and Matthew woke up at dawn and rushed down to see what Santa had brought them, Declan waking moments later. Usually, the presents were exactly what they wanted and more: toy helicopters, toy race-cars, and electric guitars. Now that Ronan was older, he realized those presents were all dream-things. The toys didn’t need batteries because they ran on dream energy. The guitars were always in-tune. Even the toy train that ran at the bottom of the tree, always going in a perfect circle despite the lack of tracks, was pulled from his father’s slumber.

Maybe it was the dream things, maybe it was his family, or maybe it was just that holiday cheer that made Christmas seem so magical. But even long after his family was pulled at the seams and no neatly-wrapped boxes sat at the bottom of a tree, he still felt the magic of the most wonderful time of the year.

Truthfully, he was filled with a sense of warmth every time he heard a Christmas song playing on the radio. He felt happiness bubble inside him every time he saw a house decorated in red and green lights. Christmas trees made him feel safe and at home.

But he had a reputation to uphold, of course, so he played The Grinch. He changed the station when he heard familiar jolly tunes, muttering that he was going to murder someone if they played “Jingle Bells” one more time. He never let anyone catch him staring at the twinkling lights, and he complained every time Gansey “forced” him to help care for the tree in Monmouth.

“I never signed up to water a stupid fucking tree,” he’d say. “I don’t even understand why we have one. You’re going to D.C. for Christmas, and it’s not like Noah or I will have anyone to celebrate with.”

Despite his nearly flawless acting, everyone could tell he loved Christmas. 

“A little help here, Ronan?” Gansey grunted, trying to push a pine tree up the stairs. He and Adam were struggling to get the plant into Monmouth. Their struggle didn’t come from the weight of the tree, though it was very heavy, but rather it was a challenge to navigate the stairs and open doors while the needles stung their hands and bodies. Gansey even had a branch in his face, but he didn’t complain.

“Hey, Maggot, open the door for them,” Ronan said, turning to Blue, who had a pile of boxes in her hands. For a moment, he thought they were going to topple over and bring her to the ground with them. But she balanced herself again and glared at him. He threw his hands up, sighed, and opened the door. 

“Why are you huffing? You’re the only one that isn’t doing anything,” Noah said. He was carrying more boxes as well, and Ronan could see light bounce off a string of golden tinsel. 

“I was just watching you all, and that in itself is very exhausting,” Ronan smirked. 

“I’d also say it’s pretty exhausting being an asshole,” Blue said, her voice ice. She glared at him once again as she walked past him and into Monmouth. 

His smirk transformed into a wicked smile, his white teeth on full display. It was the smile that Adam and Gansey had seen many times before, the smile that Ronan wore just before a fight or a terrible argument. No one had to brace themselves this time, though. The smile soon disappeared with no harsh remark to accompany it, a true Christmas miracle.

Gansey and Adam managed to fit the tree onto a stand, and Blue and Noah placed their boxes on the floor. Then, she stole Gansey’s phone from his back pocket and turned on Christmas music. The phone was connected to a bluetooth speaker (finally, one of Gansey’s pointless buys proved to have use) so Panic! at the Disco’s version of “White Christmas” was heard loud and clear.

Ronan bared his teeth at her, but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “No complaining. We’re decorating the tree, we’re listening to Christmas music, and no matter what you say, I know you’re going to enjoy it.”

He huffed once again but remained quiet. He even helped her and Noah unpack the ornaments while the other two struggled with the tangle of Christmas lights they were going to put on the tree. 

Soon, everyone was moving around each other, adding tinsel and ornaments to the tree as they sang along to the music. Piece by piece, their tree came together and Ronan felt that magic stirring there in Monmouth.

He was inspired and determined. He wanted to make this the best Christmas ever, especially for Adam. He knew that Christmas for Adam was never filled with the same happiness it held for him, and not because of the lack of presents, but because of the lack of love. 

But Adam wasn’t with his shitty parents. He was with his real family-- Blue, Noah, Gansey, and Ronan. And none of them, especially Ronan, would allow him to go through this holiday feeling unloved.

The number of ornaments in the boxes dwindled down as everyone put them on the tree, but Blue had shifted her focus to decorating everyone else. Noah had baubles hanging on his sweater, and ribbon was wound around Gansey’s torso, tied at his shoulders. Adam had a simple, green bow on the top of his head and the biggest smile on his face, which made Ronan turn to mush. 

Noticing his loving heart eyes, Blue swung a thick rope of tinsel over his shoulders. She leaned close to him and whispered, “Careful, Lynch. You’re showing emotion.”

His features quickly melted into a bored, annoyed expression. “Shut up, Sargent.”

She smiled and gave him a warm look. She didn’t speak again as she placed her hand on his arm, giving a quick, reassuring squeeze. Then, she turned around and began to dance with Noah and Adam and Gansey. Ronan noticed that he wasn’t the only one wearing his heart on his sleeve. The way Blue and Gansey looked at each other was priceless, and while part of him was jealous of their shared love, he found himself smiling, too.

The final ornaments were hung on the great pine, but Blue had a surprise. She told them to close their eyes and slid something into each of their right palms. When they opened their eyes, they saw they were holding their own ornaments. 

Noah held a round, glass ornament with a tree and glitter inside. He shook it and watched the iridescent glitter float around in the orb like snow. Adam’s ornament was a small, clay deck of tarot cards, the magician facing upward. In Gansey’s hand was a vintage orange Camaro, identical to the pig. From the look he gave Blue, Ronan swore Gansey could have kissed her in that moment. Ronan himself held a raven that resembled Chainsaw. Even Blue had her own ornament: a pink, plastic switchblade. 

“At home, it’s a tradition that every member of the family gets their own special ornament to put on the tree,” Blue said. The others tried to capture that picture in their minds, but they couldn’t imagine how many ornaments would be weighing down the tree at 300 Fox Way. “And you all are family.”

All of them were at a loss of words. 

So much had changed since the beginning of the year. Blue wasn’t even friends with them. They were unaware of Noah’s state. They had no true leads to Glendower. Adam was still with his parents. And Ronan was even more bitter and angry than ever, his secrets tearing him apart. 

But now... things were changing, just like magic.

Monmouth was silent, save for the holiday jingle playing. Adam was the first to step forward and hug Blue, Noah and Gansey not far behind. Even Ronan joined in on the group hug, though he muttered a promise that he’d kill each one of them if they said a thing about it to anyone else.

“Guys...” Blue said. Ronan couldn’t see her, but he knew her eyes were glistening with tears. “Small person here. Please, don’t crush me.”

Everyone laughed and released her. One by one, they put their new ornaments on the tree. They took a step back to admire their work, from the golden skirt at the bottom of the tree to the very top.

“There’s one thing missing,” Gansey said.

Blue held the star out to Ronan. “You’re the tallest.”

He stared down at the golden tree-topper for a few moments before he finally took it from her. He walked forward, but he didn’t move towards the tree. Instead, he gave the star to Adam. 

No one but Adam seemed shocked by this. Blue smiled knowingly as Adam gazed at Ronan, a look of awe and surprise etched on his elegant features, a look that caused butterflies in Ronan’s stomach. 

“What? You’ve never seen a tree-topper before? Well, like the name suggests, it goes on the top of the Christmas tree,” Ronan said, trying (and failing) to fill his words with bitter sarcasm.

Adam just shook his head, smiled, and moved to put the star on top of the Christmas tree. 

The five of them gathered around the tree. Gansey took Blue’s hand, thinking no one saw him, and gave a short squeeze before letting go while Noah slung his arm around Blue’s shoulder. While everyone’s attention was on the shining lights and glistening ornaments, Ronan felt something brush against his hand. When he looked down, he realized Adam had linked their pinkies together. He looked back up at Adam, unable to hide his surprise. Adam didn’t return his gaze, but he smiled.

Maybe it was the small gesture of care Blue did in giving those ornaments, maybe it was a sense that this was his family, maybe it was the feeling of Adam’s pinkie in his, or maybe it was just magic that caused Ronan Lynch to smile a genuine, cordial smile on that one December night.

**Author's Note:**

> ah, December is here! I’ve never been one for the holidays, as they’ve never really been a magical time for me, but this year is different and I’m excited.
> 
> holiday fics are my favorite to write, so you’ll probably see a lot of that this month. 
> 
> happy December to all of you! as this year comes to an end, I hope each and every one of you feel that magic working in your own life <3


End file.
